Higher Education Module: Skills and Competencies Reflective Report

This reflective report examines the skills and competencies developed throughout a higher education module. It begins by contrasting learning environments in school versus higher education, emphasizing self-study and time management. The report then delves into critical reading and thinking, illustrated by a role-playing activity based on the Volkswagen emission scandal, and the importance of teamwork and conflict resolution. It also discusses the ability to locate, collect, and record appropriate information from academic and online sources, and the evaluation of information reliability. The report concludes with self-reflection on the student's skills development, including areas for improvement like time management and research skills, and how these skills contribute to success in higher education. The report also includes appendices such as timetables, diagrams and data tables.

HIGHER
EDUCATION
SKILLS AND
COMPETENCIES

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
REFLECTIVE SUMMARY............................................................................................................1
Introduction of Reflective Summary...........................................................................................1
1. The distinction between learning in the School environment and Higher Education.............1
2. Engagement with Critical Reading and Thinking...................................................................2
3. The ability to locate, collect and record appropriate information...........................................3
4. Evaluation of reliability of information..................................................................................3
Conclusion of Reflective Summary............................................................................................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................4
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................5
APPENDICES.................................................................................................................................6
Appendix 1..................................................................................................................................6
Appendix 2..................................................................................................................................7
Appendix 3..................................................................................................................................8
Appendix 4..................................................................................................................................9
Appendix 5................................................................................................................................10

INTRODUCTION
Skills and Competencies refer the required experience and training required by an
individual to enhance their capabilities to perform specific tasks (Gerstein and Friedman, 2016).
The following is a reflective report discussing the distinction between learning in school
environment and higher education and engagement with critical reading and thinking. It also
discusses ability to locate, collect and record appropriate information and evaluation of reliability
of information. The report also provides a detailed insight on reading skills, self reflection and
evaluation of progress.
REFLECTIVE SUMMARY
Introduction of Reflective Summary
During my time working on the module, it gave me a very detailed insight about my
current skills and competencies as well as required capabilities required for the term as well as
my further higher education. I learned that there are various differences in school and higher
education which are imperative for individuals to realise so that they could develop effectively.
There are various effective knowledge and skills that were necessary and allowed me to
appropriately and successfully pass through this module.
1. The distinction between learning in the School environment and Higher Education
During initial week of the module, I came to acknowledge difference between the
learning in School and in Higher Education. There were various difference that I found out about
these two aspects. The major one being self-study. Tasks get tough and personal reliability
increases. One thing which came to be in my favour was my learning style. We were provided
various worksheets which made me realise that my learning styles are a blend of visual as well as
auditory style. These styles could be very much in use for module and could provide effective
results.
The biggest problem in initial weeks which I faced was with time management. This was
because in Schools, teachers help us to obtain information and prioritise activities related to our
tasks which made time management easy. While in Higher Education, all activities are supposed
to be single-handedly carried out by one individual which makes time management challenging
(Johnson and et. al., 2016).
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For improving the time management, I decided to make effective time table to address
this issue and improve time management. Furthermore, I decided to implement various strategies
as per my learning style in the module like creation of charts, graphs, etc. and discussion of ideas
verbally along with make effective presentations, all of which could help me with module.
2. Engagement with Critical Reading and Thinking
In later weeks, we were given various activities during the module which successfully
aided enhancements in skills and competencies. One such activity was Volkswagen Emission
Scandal. We were assigned various groups to perform a roleplay with about the scandal. It is
quite necessary for individuals to work as a team to accomplish various group tasks as teamwork
is an effective strategy to analyse, evaluate and implement various collaborative strategy
essential for the activity. In addition, it allows to motivate and encourage unity in the task (5
Important Reasons Why Teamwork Matters!, 2019).
The thing which has always worked out for me was analysing my strengths and
weaknesses to effectively blend in the group activities and give my maximum input to the team.
To analyse the same, Belbin's Theory of Team Roles was implemented. Good thing was that my
role in the team was quite desirable and effectively allowed me to enhance my skills and
competencies. Another favourable thing was critical thinking part. I find it quite easy to give
attention to minutest of details while working on various aspects which are necessary to include
every relevant information as per the requirement.
However, there were quite few issues faced by the team during initial stages of tasks.
There were some minor disputes which led to an unconfident start. In addition to this, conflicts
lead to creation of barriers which makes group tasks either quite challenging and sometimes
impossible to accomplish (De Bono, 2018). Another challenging issue for me was my reading
speed. Though my critical thinking is quite impressive as per standards of the module, but my
reading speed still needed some work initially. I found that paying attention to detail reduced my
speed while reading journals and articles for the VW emission scandal.
To resolve the issue related to conflict, best solution was to allot the group roles by
analysing the requirements as well as capability of each individual. As far as reading speed was
concerned, to enhance my critical reading standards as per requirements of the module, I applied
SQ3R system which allowed me to stepwise enhance my reading speed without losing sight from
any relevant detail.
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3. The ability to locate, collect and record appropriate information
Academic sources are quite imperative to gather knowledge and viewpoints of different
authors about various topics (Caplow, 2017). It is a crucial activity which helps to gain insight
about a specific subject. For Volkswagen Scandal, I went through a number of resources both
academic and online to gain a 360º view on the scandal which helped me to play my role
appropriately in the module.
The most appropriate and beneficial aspect for me throughout the report was to locate
resources from which effective and relevant information could be carried out for the case. This
required to gain an insight inside the library books, various auto-magazines, television news,
newspapers, etc. all of which helped us to form a strong and effective module satisfying the
agenda.
However, there were various sources which were very hard to find. Few of the
government statistics regarding the case and various legal documents associated with scandal
was quite challenging for me and my team mates to get a peak into. This was because there are
various reasons concerned with confidentiality of information that are decided to be kept as a
secret from general public.
With various insight into online government sites and going through various journal
articles, we were successful to find these resources along with legal documents that allowed us to
gain an insight on this scandal. In addition to this, to effectively examine the same, systematic
activities were formulated in form of logs along with the allotted time for each activity .
4. Evaluation of reliability of information
It is quite crucial for an individual to collect reliable information to present relevant data
in their research and adequately accomplish the required task (Parrondo, Horowitz and Sagawa,
2015). For VW emission scandal, I went through ample number of resources which included
books, journals, articles, internet, etc. From these resources, a lot of information was gathered
and recorded. The final task required me to appropriately and systematically segregate relevant
information from the irrelevant ones.
The best thing according to me was that I found it quite easy to analyse and evaluate
information that was relevant and effective as per the requirements of this module. I evaluated
each source appropriately and effectively recorded each information specifically which would
provide ease to me as well as the teammates to compile information within due time.
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However, there were some sources which were relevant, yet, their authenticity could not
be effectively gained. This was very challenging as data was exactly what we needed to include
in the module. However, without authenticity, the relevance and reliability of information could
be quite uncertain.
These resources were eventually analysed again and only important and authentic
information was used in the report to make it effective and appropriate.
Conclusion of Reflective Summary
The module adequately supported me to enhance my skills and competencies which
could contribute in success of my higher education. However, for further terms, I would really
work on various aspects because of which, I faced several challenges in my module. For
instance, I would dedicate some time to sort out each activity beforehand for effective time
management for my projects. In addition to this, it is very crucial to evaluate skills and
competencies regularly to ensure development of required aspects as per demands of the
concepts and projects (Bergsmann and et. al., 2015). Lastly. I would really give an insight to
developing new ways of research that helps me in collecting only relevant information in future
to effectively achieve the purpose and save time for further evaluation and compilation.
CONCLUSION
Thus, it is concluded that skills and competencies are crucial to effectively accomplish
higher education and appropriately accomplishing every required task for the same. Time
management is an important activity that allows to priorities and carry each activity which
reduces pressure and effectively allows an individual to accomplish tasks systematically. Critical
reading and thinking aids to find ways and develop strategies that could help in smooth running
of operations as well as create a right and an appropriate pathway towards accomplishment of
activities. It is also important to locate, gather and record each information needed as per the
requirements of the task to induce a better understanding of concepts and logical reasoning.
Lastly, it is crucial to evaluate reliability of each information as per the changing environment
and future uncertainties. This is because non-reliable source have a risk to provide relevant
information in future. Thus, relevant and reliable source must only be taken into use while
accomplishing the module.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Bergsmann, E., and et. al., 2015. Evaluation of competence-based teaching in higher education:
From theory to practice. Evaluation and program planning. 52. pp.1-9.
Caplow, T., 2017. The academic marketplace. Routledge.
De Bono, E., 2018. Conflicts: A better way to resolve them. Random House.
Gerstein, M. and Friedman, H.H., 2016. Rethinking higher education: Focusing on skills and
competencies.
Johnson, L., and et. al., 2016. NMC horizon report: 2016 higher education edition (pp. 1-50).
The New Media Consortium.
Parrondo, J.M., Horowitz, J.M. and Sagawa, T., 2015. Thermodynamics of information. Nature
physics. 11(2). p.131.
Online
5 Important Reasons Why Teamwork Matters!. 2019. [Online] Available through:
<https://www.potential.com/articles/5-important-reasons-why-teamwork-matters/>
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APPENDICES
Appendix 1
TIME 07:00-8:00 08:00-10:00 10:00-18:00 18:00-19:00 19:00-21:00
MONDAY Work Study
TUESDAY Study
WEDNESDAY Lecture Workshop
THURSDAY Work Workshop Study
FRIDAY Study
SATURDAY Lecture Workshop
SUNDAY Study
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Appendix 2
Illustration 1: Roles for VW Emission Scandal
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Appendix 3
TEXT SQ3R TEXT
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
4.5
3
4.5
Reading speed Week 7
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Appendix 4
Required Work Required Time
Reading Journals about VW Scandal First 3 Days of Seventh Week
Gathering Relevant Information through
Government Sources
Remaining 4 Days of Seventh Week
Work Done Time Taken
I read various journals, articles, online
information about VW emission Scandal
First 2 Days of Seventh Week
I gathered information about the scandal from
government website and agencies
Remaining 5 Days of Seventh Week
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Appendix 5
Required Work Required Time
Segregating Relevant Information about VW
Scandal
First 2 Days of Eighth Week
Writing a reflective report Remaining 5 Days of Eighth Week
Work Done Time Taken
I evaluated and segregated relevant data about
VW scandal
First 2 Days of Eighth Week
I wrote a reflective report evaluating various
skills and competencies.
Remaining 5 Days of Eighth Week
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